A brief history of Penguins and goaltender fights - 02-03-11
While there are hardly concrete records on goaltender fights, Penguins broadcaster Bob Grove is pretty much the authority on all things related to the Penguins and statistics.
With the help of an associate, Grove was able to come up with an unofficial list of 10 "official" goaltender fights in Penguins history.
And when we say "official," we mean that the goaltender in question received a fighting major for his actions. So in other words, this "fight" Garth Snow got into with Florida's Peter Worrell a few years back doesn't count for this list since Snow didn't receive a fighting major.
As you can tell, prior to last night's bout between Brent Johnson and the Islanders' Rick DiPietro was the first in quite a while. And there haven't been too many of these types of fights since the Carter administration.
| Date | Goaltender | Opponent, team |
| 2-2-11 | Brent Johnson | Rick DiPietro, Islanders |
| 5-16-95 | Ken Wregget | Dale Hunter, Capitals-* |
| 2-29-84 | Denis Herron | Dave “Tiger” Williams, Canucks |
| 4-9-77 | Denis Herron | Dave “Tiger” Williams, Maple Leafs |
| 10-27-76 | Dunc Wilson | Danny Gare, Sabres |
| 4-4-71 | Al Smith | Noel Picard, Blues |
| 11-28-70 | Al Smith | Phil Myre, Canadiens |
| 1-23-70 | Al Smith | Tony Featherstone, Golden Seals |
| 12-17-69 | Al Smith | Terry Harper, Canadiens |
| 11-22-69 | Al Smith | Earl Heiskala, Flyers |
*-Occured during the postseason. No Capitals player was officially given a fighting major. Hunter appeared to be the one primarily engaged with Wregget.
We're going to assume Al Smith's "franchise record" is safe.
(Photo: Penguins Hockey Cards)